บท 7: S E V E N
I N D I G O
I woke up the next morning, my eyes slightly burning and feeling puffy.
When did I cry?
"Good morning princess," Milo said, his morning voice was raspy and husky which made me feel... turned on?
"Morning," I screeched out, taken back by the sound that came out and the roughness coating my throat.
What the hell happened to my voice?
"Do you remember your nightmare last night?," Milo asked, curiosity coating his question.
That explains my stinging eyes and burning throat. God damnit, another nightmare. In front of everyone?!
"Oh no... did I disturb you guys? I-I didn't mean to. I forgot my medication at home... that usually gets me through the nights," I blurted out, not being able to control my rambling.
"You take medications for your nightmares?," he asked. I could sense the irritation in his voice. It's probably because I interfered with his sleep. Stupid stupid stupid.
I nodded my head so that it didn't seem like I was ignoring him. I noticed his fist clenched tightly, the whites of his knuckles appearing. I didn't know what do, but it seems my actions were speaking for themselves this morning as my hand gently landed on top of his. This seemed to have calmed him down because the clenching stopped.
"Lets join the others for breakfast," he said while pulling me up off the couch. I was thankful for his change of subject.
Everyone ate in silence. I was trying to talk myself down from having a mental breakdown.
These people will never invite me over again...
As if Vera could sense my uneasiness, she put her plate in the sink and yelled out, "who wants to go to the mall?!"
Em shot out of her seat quicker than the speed of light. "I'll get my shoes!," she squealed as she disappeared down the hallway. The boys all laughed, making me forget why I was even upset.
We spent the day hopping from store to store. Sometimes the guys would venture into their own choice of clothing shop, while the girls dragged me to theirs. I didn't have any money so I was really just window shopping and helping them pick out some outfits.
Em handed me a black sheer bag with a bunch of clothes in them, "Try these on! I think I did really well judging on your current style."
"Oh no, I don't have my wallet on me today," I stated quickly, knowing that was a lie. I've never even owned a wallet.
She flicked her wrist in the air, "Not a problem sweet cheeks, Milo insisted we get you some new things."
"Really, it's okay. I don't like owing people," I replied. That part was actually true.
"Yeah, well I don't like Milo being mad at me. And he definitely will be if you don't walk out of this store with some bags. Money has no concept with this family, so don't even fret," she said while dangling the bag in front of me.
I wanted to refuse but I could tell I was getting nowhere. She wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. I sighed in frustration but took the bag from her and headed towards the fitting room.
She actually chose rather appealing outfits and all were my style. She somehow knew me very well, even got the correct sizes. Most of the shirts were loose and I was really thankful for that. There were a couple tank tops and a few pairs of shorts, but I politely declined those. Those kind of clothes will show too much skin, and I don't need my bruises on display.
She picked out a few pairs of sneakers for me while Vera grabbed some lace underwear to add into my non-existent collection. When we were done there, the girls wanted to go through Victoria Secret. Luckily, I saw Tyler heading into the Vans store and I told Vera I would meet up with them after.
My legs we're threatening to give out on me as I was still feeling physically drained from Thursday night so I made my way to the back of the store and sat down on one of the couches.
"Jake isn't around and I need opinions," Tyler said exasperatedly as he sat down next to me.
"How can I help?," I asked.
"Which deck design do you think is best?," he asked while showing me his choices.
"Well I'm a big fan of this brand," I said while pointing at the Plan B deck that was red and black.
"You officially rule, Indigo Carter," he said as he side hugged me. I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle, he's such a goofball.
"You should laugh more often. It suits you better, and makes Milo happy," he stated before walking off to buy the board. Butterflies were fluttering and dancing around in the pit of my stomach and I just sat their grinning like an idiot.
We finally finished shopping and had lunch in the courtyard. When we got back to the house, Gio had come in and asked the boys to handle some business at the warehouse. I wanted to ask what their job was and how they had all this money but knew it wasn't my place to be nosey.
The girls and I went to Vera's room to binge Netflix. Only two episodes into Stranger Things and both of them were quietly snoring beside me. My stomach began to rumble and I decided to go into the kitchen to see if they had any fruit I could snack on.
Usually when I'm hungry, I just drink a lot of water or sleep it off. But since I'm not at Jim's, I didn't feel the need to deprive myself much. When I reached the kitchen, I could hear melodic humming bouncing off the walls. I turned the corner to see Cora in the middle of cooking.
"Ah, a helper!," she exclaimed.
I smiled warmly at her. I never liked cooking because I was always forced to do it, never asked. But the way Cora approached me, it wasn't hateful at all. It was... loving. So, I was happy to assist her with anything she needed.
She taught me how to make her 'famous' meatloaf and then began grabbing more ingredients out of the pantry. As if she read my confused expression, she quickly chimed in, "we are going to bake a cake!"
"I love cake," I replied with a smile.
"Me too!," she sang.
Spending time with Cora made me wish I had my own mom to teach me these things, to love and care for me, to protect me... I whimpered as images from the night at the camper flashed in my mind.
"Sweetie," I heard Cora softly say.
I flinched as her hand touched my shoulder. When I looked to her, her face was scrunched in worry and guilt. "Lets go take a walk, shall we?," she asked.
I took her hand and followed her out back. There was still daylight, so I was able to see more of the land now. It was endless, and the forest acted as a natural fence. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't on the verge of breaking down. We stopped after walking for what felt like an eternity; my body was slowly beginning to shut down, not being able to match the amount of energy used up at the mall.
"I come here to think, to escape from reality when I need it," she said.
I looked up to see that we were in the middle of the forest with a pond right in front of us. It seemed magical. I sat down on a random boulder and let my thoughts drift away as I took in my surroundings. I could hear birds chirping, wind lowly howling in the distance, and an occasional plop when the fish would dive back into the pond. I don't know how long we stayed there but I was thankful for her patience and for the silence.
After a few more minutes, I stood up and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much for this," I whispered, not trusting my voice.
"Anytime baby. I'm always here," she said while rubbing circles on my back.
Eventually we made our way back to the kitchen and finished baking the cake. The girls joined us for dinner after they woke up, and the guys soon followed in suit. We all ate and talked about what we did for the day. I could see Milo from the corner of my eye smiling when his mom explained that I helped her cook and bake this evening. It warmed my heart knowing that I made him proud.
We all played some board games and watched a couple of movies before sleep found us.
I fell asleep snuggled into Milo's chest playing back todays' events, thinking about everyone-- how they're all so kind to me.
The nightmares didn't visit me tonight like I expected them to and I couldn't have been more pleased with that.
N E X T • D A Y
We spent the day lazying around and doing absolutely nothing. When the time came, I said my goodbyes to everyone and told the girls I'd meet them in the lot tomorrow morning before school. Milo offered to drive me home since I clearly couldn't skate with all the bags of clothes I had. The car ride there was quiet, but not the awkward kind. It was a comfortable silence. I didn't have to talk to him to feel at peace, I just needed him near me.
When we arrived, Milo walked me to my front door and I could tell he didn't want me to go in.
The feeling is mutual.
He embraced me in a warm hug and kissed my forehead. I buried my head into his chest, begging time to stop so he didn't have to leave me.
"I'll see you tomorrow mi rosa," he said as we departed ways.
P L E A S E • V O T E
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